Wind turbines and wind power plants, also known as wind parks or wind farms, receive increased attention as environmentally safe and relatively inexpensive alternative energy sources. With this growing interest, considerable efforts are being made to develop wind power plants that are reliable and efficient.
A wind turbine generally includes a rotor having multiple blades. The rotor is mounted to a housing or nacelle which is positioned on top of a tower. Wind turbines may have large rotors (e.g. 40 or more meters in length). In addition, the towers are typically at least 60 meters in height. Blades on these rotors transform wind energy into a rotational torque or force that drives one or more generators. The wind turbine is configurable to provide a variable amount of power. A plurality of wind turbines may be grouped into a wind power plant configurable to provide a variable amount of power. The wind power plant typically also comprises a power plant controller capable of communicating with the plurality of wind turbines to adjust the amount of power generated by each of the wind turbines. The wind power plant may also comprise substation equipment, e.g. compensation equipment in the form of i.e. STATCOMs, capacitor banks.